Obituary Stories category, Page 17
’24,’ ‘Runaways’ actor Annie Wersching dies at 45
Actor Annie Wersching, best known for playing FBI agent Renee Walker in the series “24” and providing the voice for Tess in the video game “The Last of Us,” has died. She was 45. Wersching passed away Sunday morning in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer, her publicist told...
Guitarist Tom Verlaine, co-founder of Television, dies at 73
NEW YORK — Tom Verlaine, guitarist and co-founder of the seminal proto-punk band Television who influenced many bands while playing at ultra-cool downtown New York music venue CBGB alongside the Ramones, Patti Smith and Talking Heads, has died. He was 73. He died Saturday in New York City, surrounded by...
College basketball broadcaster Billy Packer dies at 82
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Billy Packer, an Emmy award-winning college basketball broadcaster who covered 34 Final Fours for NBC and CBS, died Thursday. He was 82. Packer’s son, Mark, told The Associated Press that his father had been hospitalized in Charlotte for the past three weeks and had several medical issues,...
Lloyd Morrisett, who helped launch ‘Sesame Street,’ dies
NEW YORK — Lloyd Morrisett, the co-creator of the beloved children’s education TV series “Sesame Street,” which uses empathy and fuzzy monsters like Abby Cadabby, Elmo and Cookie Monster to charm and teach generations around the world, has died. He was 93. Morrisett’s death was announced Tuesday by Sesame Workshop,...
Tree of Life attack survivor Dr. E. Joseph Charny dies at 95
Dr. E. Joseph Charny, a longtime Pittsburgh resident who survived the Tree of Life attack, has died at age 95. He died in Washington, D.C., due to complications of a stroke, compounded by Alzheimer’s disease, according to his obituary in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. He stood next to Rabbi Jeffrey...
David Crosby, whose voice soared with the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, dies
LOS ANGELES — David Crosby, who helped found two supergroups that broadened and deepened the reach of rock music, and who, with his outspoken political pronouncements and famously outsized appetites came to symbolize the Woodstock generation’s exuberance and excesses, has died, according to a source close to the musician. Bedeviled...
Ex-Pirates slugger Frank Thomas, who starred for hometown team in 1950s, dies at 93
Frank Thomas got to live a childhood dream as a Pittsburgh native who became a three-time All-Star slugger for the Pirates in the 1950s before being traded for a trio of players who helped win the 1960 World Series. One of the Pirates’ most popular players, Thomas hit 163 home...
‘American Idol’ star CJ Harris dead at 31 of apparent heart attackVideo
CJ Harris, a singer who competed on “American Idol” during the reality competition’s 13th season, has died. The Alabama native was 31 years old. A family member told TMZ that Harris was taken to a hospital via ambulance but died following a suspected heart attack on Sunday in Jasper, Ala....
Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida dies at age 95
Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida, who achieved international stardom during the 1950s and was dubbed “the most beautiful woman in the world” after the title of one of her movies, died in Rome on Monday, her agent said. She was 95. The agent, Paola Comin, didn’t provide details. Lollobrigida had...
Lisa Marie Presley dies at 54 after hospitalization
WEST HILLS, Calif. — Lisa Marie Presley — the only child of Elvis Presley — died Thursday after being hospitalized earlier that day, her mother said in a statement. The singer was 54. “It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter...
Jeff Beck, guitar god who influenced generations, dies at 78
NEW YORK — Jeff Beck, a guitar virtuoso who pushed the boundaries of blues, jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, influencing generations of shredders along the way and becoming known as the guitar player’s guitar player, has died. He was 78. Beck died Tuesday after “suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis,” his representatives...
Tatjana Patitz, supermodel of ’80s and ’90s, dies at 56
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Tatjana Patitz, one of an elite group of famed supermodels who graced magazine covers in the 1980s and ’90s and appeared in George Michael’s “Freedom! ‘90” music video, has died at age 56. Patitz’s death in the Santa Barbara, California, area was confirmed by her New...
Pittsburgh native Blake Hounshell, New York Times editor, dies at 44
WASHINGTON — Blake Hounshell, a well-known journalist who edited The New York Times’ “On Politics” newsletter and formerly held several leadership positions at Politico, died Tuesday of an apparent suicide. He was 44. Joe Kahn, the Times executive editor, and Carolyn Ryan, the newspaper’s managing editor, said in a note...
Cardinal George Pell, whose convictions were overturned, dies at 81
ROME — Cardinal George Pell, who was the most senior Catholic cleric to be convicted of child sex abuse and spent 404 days in solitary confinement in his native Australia before his convictions were overturned, died Tuesday in Rome. He was 81. Pell died after undergoing hip surgery at Salvator...
‘Diamond,’ of conservative duo Diamond and Silk, dies at 51
RALEIGH, N.C. — Lynette Hardaway, an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump and one half of the conservative political commentary duo Diamond and Silk, has died, according to the pair’s Twitter account. She was 51. Hardaway, known by the moniker “Diamond,” carved out a unique role as a Black...
Adam Rich, former ‘Eight Is Enough’ child star, dies at 54
LOS ANGELES — Adam Rich, the child actor with a pageboy mop-top who charmed TV audiences in the late 1970s as “America’s little brother” on “Eight is Enough,” has died. He was 54. Rich died Saturday in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, said Lt. Aimee Earl of the Los...
Russell Banks, praised author of ‘Cloudsplitter,’ dies at 82
NEW YORK — Russell Banks, an award-winning fiction writer who rooted such novels as “Affliction” and “The Sweet Hereafter” in the wintry, rural communities of his native Northeast and imagined the dreams and downfalls of everyone from modern blue-collar workers to the radical abolitionist John Brown, has died. He was...
Pa. native Molly Broad, UNC’s first female system president, dies at 81
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Molly Corbett Broad, the first female president of the University of North Carolina system and who later became a top advocate for U.S. higher education, has died at age 81. Broad died early Monday, according to a statement from her family. The statement was provided to...
Ken Block, champion pro rally driver and social media icon, dies at 55
LOS ANGELES — Most of Ken Block’s social media messages to his nearly 2 million YouTube subscribers and half a million Twitter followers touted the “Go Fast Risk Every Thang” mantra that enabled him to become the world’s most famous rally car racer and ambassador for the sport. But his...
Danish screenwriter Lise Nørgaard dies at age 105
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Lise Nørgaard, a screenwriter who penned the popular epic television drama “Matador” about the lives of ordinary Danish families in a fictitious provincial town during the recession of the 1930s and the hard times of World War II, has died. She was 105. Nørgaard died Sunday after...
Fans mourn Pelé at public viewing in Brazil stadium
SANTOS, Brazil — Thousands of mourners began paying their respects to Pelé in a solemn procession past his coffin at the Vila Belmiro Stadium in his hometown of Santos on Monday. The Brazilian soccer great died Thursday after a battle with cancer. The three-time World Cup winner was 82. Pelé’s...
Barbara Walters, television news trailblazer, dies at 93
NEW YORK — Barbara Walters, the intrepid interviewer, anchor and program host who led the way as the first woman to become a TV news superstar during a network career remarkable for its duration and variety, has died. She was 93. Walters’ death was announced by ABC on air Friday...
Legendary wrestling announcer, TV pitchman dies after battle with cancer
Maybe you knew Don West for his work as a wrestling announcer or maybe you knew him as the guy who spent a good chunk of the 90s and early 2000s selling “Gem Mint 10″ baseball cards on the Shop at Home Network. He was great and memorable in both...
Pelé, Brazil’s mighty king of ‘beautiful game,’ has died
SAO PAULO — Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died Thursday. He was 82. The standard-bearer of “the beautiful game” had undergone treatment for colon cancer since 2021. He had...
Steelers great Franco Harris dies at age 72Video
Two days before the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception and three days before his number is scheduled to be retired by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris died. He was 72. No cause of death was revealed, but family friend Curtis Aiken — the former...
